


Our Lovable Himbo

by lymle1



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Banter, Eventual Romance, Gen Z Slangs, Johnny Lawrence and the 21st Century, Johnny being Johnny, Johnny's POV, M/M, No Smut, Not Beta Read, Post-Season/Series 03, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:48:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29429064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lymle1/pseuds/lymle1
Summary: Five times Johnny doesn’t understand a goddamn thing, and one time he can get with the program, sort of.
Relationships: Amanda LaRusso/Daniel LaRusso, Background Carmen Diaz/Amanda LaRusso, Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence, Mention of Demetri/Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz
Comments: 74
Kudos: 187





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first Cobra Kai fanfic! I don't write fanfic very often, and the last time I wrote one was four years ago, so please go easy on me. The idea of Johnny being confused about everything just couldn't leave me, and of course I had to make it Lawrusso too. This is a finished fic, so I'll be updating every day until I'm done, and the chapters do get progressively longer, so I guess you can look forward to that if the fic interests you. Enjoy!

If you would have told Johnny five years ago that this is where he’d be, sitting on his couch on a Friday night, staring at his _smartphone_ like a nerd _,_ he probably would have laughed in your face and proceeded to punch it. Yet, here he was, his brain working a mile a minute trying to keep up with everything that came out of Miguel Diaz’s mouth.

“-so basically that’s what memes are.”

“But it’s not just pictures or words, it’s also an art?”

“Yeah, but it’s not just art either, it’s like, a lifestyle.”

“…. I don’t get it.”

“It’s okay Sensei, you’ll get the hang of it. I’ll send you some more later,” Miguel said with a wide smile. To be honest, Johnny didn’t know if he wanted to get the hang of it, but it seemed pretty important to Miguel, so he tried to give it a chance. 

“And this will be on… Tweeter?”

“Twitter, yeah.”

A notification sound suddenly rang through the small living room of Johnny’s apartment. Johnny checked it. “Hey, it says somebody… followed me?”

“Let me see.”

Johnny angled the phone towards Miguel, and after a brief glance, he just shook his head and made a disregarding sound. “Ignore those. They’re just spam accounts.”

“… Like that gross canned shit they sell at grocery stores?”

“What? No, it just means that they’ll send you pointless messages. You should block them.”

“Block? Are they trying to hit me?”

“No, but they might try to hit _on_ you.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.”

Miguel made a face. “Trust me Sensei, you’re better off without them.” He then proceeded to take the phone from Johnny and tap all over the screen in quick motion, or at least that’s what it looked like from Johnny’s point of view. He could swear his head was spinning just from looking at it.

“There, done.” Miguel handed the phone back to Johnny, and Johnny got ready to pocket the phone and tell Miguel he was done with the Twitter for tonight when he looked at the screen and did a double take.

There, under the words _who to follow_ was @DanielLaRusso.

Below the name it wrote ‘businessman, sensei, husband, father, in any order…’, which Johnny thought was a pretty simple description for a man who was such a major pain in his asshole, but what really caught Johnny’s attention was the profile picture next to it.

It was a close-up picture of LaRusso in a dark blue suit, white shirt and red tie with purple squares, his left hand curled into a loose fist placed in front of his forehead, giving the appearance that he was leaning against something. His gaze was set on somewhere to the left and not directly at the camera, making it look like he was some kind of model in a pretentious photoshoot. Probably a work thing, Johnny guessed.

He had to admit though, LaRusso looked… good. Okay fine, more than good. Damn.

“LaRusso’s on this thing too?” He asked Miguel, tapping on the picture. It brought him to LaRusso’s account.

“Oh yeah, I guess he has it to promote LaRusso Auto and Miyagi-Do, right?” Miguel answered.

Johnny squinted, reading LaRusso’s tweets. Miguel was right, most of the tweets either had something to do with the dealership or with karate, but occasionally there were just normal updates of his life like what he ate for breakfast or holiday wishes. Kind of lame, but about what Johnny expected. Johnny also noticed that most of the tweets had a link to something called Instagram? He vaguely remembered the kids mentioning it in class once or twice, but never cared enough to pay attention. Why was there so many of these social media things anyway? Learning to handle even one gave Johnny a headache.

As he scrolled through LaRusso’s account, looking for something he could maybe hold over LaRusso’s head, he stopped at a tweet with the words _My Trip to Okinawa: A personal video diary._

Johnny clicked the link next to it which brought him to LaRusso’s Instagram post. It was a video of LaRusso in a light blue floral shirt, wearing sunglasses and standing in front of a white sandy beach with several green islands and the ocean surrounding it visible in the background.

Now, this was interesting.

Forgetting Miguel was in the room with him, Johnny tapped the screen to play the video and the audio blared through the apartment.

_“Here I am in Okinawa again, and wow, it really is good to be back after all these years. I mean, just look at this view, can you believe it? Oh, my friend Chozen is here with me too-”_

“What are you doing?” Miguel asked, turning to look at Johnny’s screen. “Wait, you’re on Mr. LaRusso’s Instagram? Are you _cyber-stalking_ him?”

Johnny jumped, and out of pure instinct, threw his phone onto the other side of the couch. “No! Why would I do that? I don’t even know what that is. I just clicked a thing and it suddenly popped up.”

Miguel raised an eyebrow at him, but let it go after seeing Johnny’s skittish behavior. “Okay then, Sensei. I’ll take your word for it. Does that mean you’re ready to learn about Instagram now too?”

Johnny sighed and decided he needed a drink first.


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gen Z kids do be like that sometimes.

“Alright, 15-minute break, then we’re moving on to sparring.”

A mixture of sighs and groans could be heard as Johnny made his way out of the garden and into the dojo to grab a bottle of water. The California heat was no joke today, and LaRusso had made him get rid of all the Coors he had stocked in the fridge, saying that he “ _didn’t want that crap in the fridge, do you have no taste at all, Johnny?”_ or something along those lines. Johnny tuned most of it out after the third time he heard the lecture, but ultimately let LaRusso have his way, at least for now, to keep things civil between them for the time being. The idea of combining their two dojos was still new and Johnny didn’t want to rock the boat any further until Kreese was taken care of. LaRusso had agreed to stop being such a dick, and Johnny figured if LaRusso could do it, so could he.

Speaking of, LaRusso wasn’t here right now on account of having a big meeting at the dealership, and Johnny was taking full advantage of it. It was the first time Johnny was fully in charge of training since the night they made the deal, and really, with the way LaRusso was coddling these kids, Johnny wondered how they were ever going to win in the first place. All that balance bullshit and breathing nonsense just wouldn’t cut it against Kreese, so today Johnny took it into his own hands to toughen the kids up a little. He couldn’t go too hard on them since he was pretty sure Sam would rat him out in a heartbeat, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t give them a little bit of a push.

And that’s all it was, just a little push, quite literally in fact. He hadn’t _yeeted_ that kid, or whatever Diaz said it was. The kid got over the fence just fine.

Okay, so the kid didn’t stick the landing and fell on his ass, but it wasn’t Johnny’s fault that he was all bones and no muscle. No wonder it was so easy to smack the kid’s books out of his hands that one time at the school. Johnny would definitely need to make him do more push-ups on his knuckles.

After getting to the fridge and chugging half a bottle of water, Johnny was about to step out into the garden when he heard some of the kids having a conversation.

“Man, I forgot how hardcore Sensei Lawrence’s training was,” Chris said with a huff.

“Hey, at least it gets us in shape. What does Mr. LaRusso’s training teach, huh? To hold hands with our enemies and sing Kumbaya by the campfire?” Mitch snorted.

Johnny smirked. He taught this kid well.

“I think that the combination of both their methods are pretty useful.” Bert chimed in.

“Yeah, we get the best of both worlds. It’s pretty cool,” Nathaniel agreed, and huh, Johnny kind of had to agree as well. He could admit that he and LaRusso worked pretty well together when they weren’t at each other’s throat all the time, and overall it was good training for the kids too.

“They do work pretty well together, I’ll admit,” Mitch said, voicing exactly what Johnny had thought, and Johnny smiled softly. However, the smile completely disappeared when he heard what Mitch said next.

“Don’t they give out a weird vibe, though? Or is that just me?”

_Vibe?_

“What vibe?” Chris asked.

“Like, kind of a mutual pining vibe, but both their heads are too far up their asses to know it.”

_The fuck?_

“Oh yeah, I can kinda see that. No wonder it’s a 35-year slow burn.”

Johnny blinked. _What the fuck were these kids talking about?_

“Oh my god, enemies to friends to lovers! My favorite trope!” Mitch exclaimed.

Johnny felt a headache coming on and silently cursed himself for giving in to LaRusso’s wish of getting rid of the Coors. He really wished he had a drink right about now.

“I ship them,” Bert supplied. “Hey what do you think their ship name would be? Donny? Janiel?”

Johnny could swear his right eye was twitching.

“Lawrusso, duh,” Nathaniel said in a _isn’t it obvious?_ tone.

Okay, Johnny had heard enough. He stepped out into the garden, the door sliding shut with a loud bang behind him, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Alright, fall in! I didn’t give you a break just to hear you gossiping like soccer moms at Sunday brunch. Bert, Nathaniel, you’re up! And Mitch & Chris, you’re next!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao I promise the next chapter will finally have Daniel in it.


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay Daniel's here!

Johnny was soaking wet from head to toe. He shivered, wiping the remaining pond water off of his face while simultaneously sending a glare towards LaRusso’s direction, who was just as drenched as Johnny was. The twerp had the nerve to grin and shrug.

“Hey, at least we finally managed to do it, right?” LaRusso said, and Johnny scowled but couldn’t deny it.

It had been Sam who had suggested they try it after seeing Johnny and LaRusso get into yet another argument about what to teach the kids in class today. The tournament was only a few weeks away, and they needed to be fully focused if they wanted to win.

They’d been trying to do the wheel technique for a while now, always getting so close to finishing before somehow losing their balance at the last second and messing it up. LaRusso, of course, blamed Johnny. Typical.

_“Jesus! Slow down, Johnny. We were almost done, why’d you always have to rush it?”_

_“Oh sorry, am I supposed to expect my opponent to slow down during a fight? No? I didn’t think so. Gotta swoop down like an eagle.”_

_“Hey genius, the technique is supposed to be about finding balance with your partner, not fighting an opponent. You’ve got the whole concept wrong, and you wonder why we can’t do this right. Unbelievable.”_

Johnny had shot LaRusso a dirty look but decided to give his way a try, just because he wanted to stop falling into the goddamn pond so much. To Johnny’s chagrin, things did seem to run a lot more smoothly, but Johnny would never admit it out loud. LaRusso’s ego was big enough already.

By the time they were able to actually execute it without any problems, Johnny was actually feeling pretty good about himself, and their clothes were almost dry. That is, until LaRusso decided to be a little shit.

Johnny recognized that look in his eyes.

“ _LaRusso, don’t you_ _dare_ - _”_

 _“Gotta swoop down like an eagle, right Johnny?”_ LaRusso had mocked, and then promptly shoved Johnny into the pond. _Dick._

That brings us back to the present, where Johnny was glaring daggers at LaRusso.

“You better have some spare clothes I can wear. I’m not doing class looking like I just got hosed down for being a bad dog.”

“Well, you were being a bad _something_ alright, so you got what was coming.”

“Shut it LaRusso, just go get me a t-shirt and some shorts and we can call it even.”

LaRusso shook his head and mumbled _asshole_ under his breath but went to do what Johnny asked.

Johnny needed a drink. He had restocked the fridge with Coors, learning his lesson from the last time. Screw LaRusso and his high-and-mighty attitude.

He headed into the dojo, dripping pond water all over the floor. There was supposed to be a class starting in 15 minutes, so Johnny figured he could probably down one or two bottles before then.

As he was moving towards the fridge, he heard the front door slide open and someone step in.

“Hey Sensei, why are you wet?” Aisha asked as she walked further into the dojo.

After being transferred to a private school, she had been forced to play the role of the perfect goody-two-shoes daughter her parents expected her to be. That lasted for all of a few months before Aisha had let the natural cobra instincts kick in again. So what if she had punched the head of the cheerleading squad? “ _Bitch deserved it, she and Yasmine were probably born and raised in the same circle of hell_ ,” Aisha had said.

The school however had a very different opinion on the situation, and given Aisha’s history of _extra-curricular activities,_ they thought it best not to continue having her. Safe to say, Aisha’s parents were not happy, but in the end, they gave in and decided to try and let her back into West Valley High, if and only if she behaved herself and didn’t get into any more fights. So, here she was, standing in front of a drenched Johnny Lawrence.

“It’s a long story,” Johnny answered.

“Well, you’re dripping everywhere.”

“Thanks, I noticed.”

“Are you gonna change before class starts?”

“Yeah, LaRusso’s getting me something to wear.”

“Okay, well, maybe you should take off your shirt first or something? You wouldn’t be dripping as much,” Aisha shrugged as she went to sit on a part of the floor that wasn’t wet.

Johnny looked to his own chest before taking off the shirt and throwing it to the ground, then going back to digging through the fridge for the beer.

“Here, I got you a towel, so don’t go dripping all over my –”

LaRusso walked into the dojo, stopping short as he saw the half-naked man standing in front of the fridge.

“Too late. You want anything from the fridge while I’m here?” Johnny asked.

“Uh…”

LaRusso stood in place, staring and holding the towel outstretched in one hand with the set of clothes in the other. Johnny raised an eyebrow. Aisha glanced from LaRusso to Johnny and smirked.

“Sensei, I think Mr. LaRusso might be a little _thirsty._ ”

Johnny looked from Aisha’s amused face to LaRusso’s reddening one, wondering how she came to that conclusion.

“Bet you probably want the fancy craft beer shit, huh?” He turned to the fridge to get one when his eyes found some strawberries. “Hey, you want something to eat too? There’s some strawberries here,” Johnny said as he popped one into his mouth, turning to face LaRusso’s stunted deer-in-the-headlights expression. He still didn’t get a response.

Huh, this must’ve been a new record for LaRusso, being able to keep his mouth closed for more than ten seconds. If Johnny knew this was all it took to shut LaRusso up, he would’ve taken his shirt off a lot sooner.

“I don’t know Sensei, Mr. LaRusso looks like he might want a different kind of _snack._ ”

Johnny’s eyebrows narrowed as he looked once again into the fridge.

“Well, there’s nothing else but strawberries here, man. You want them or not?” He asked, growing a little impatient and crossing his arms over his chest reflexively. LaRusso’s eyes did a split-second shift downwards at the action before snapping back up to meet Johnny’s eyes again, and Johnny didn’t know LaRusso’s face could even be that shade of red, but here they were.

Johnny honestly didn’t get it. LaRusso was acting as if he’d never seen a shirtless guy before. It was ridiculous.

“You feeling alright there, LaRusso?” Johnny asked.

“He’s feeling _something,_ alright,” Aisha quipped, struggling not to giggle. At that comment, LaRusso finally found his voice.

“What? N-no, I’m - I’m good. I’m fine. Not feeling anything, nope. Just… here.”

LaRusso shoved the towel and clothes into Johnny’s hands and immediately left, muttering something about how he needed to get ready for class.

“What was that all about?” Johnny asked, incredulous. Aisha just laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I know Johnny shouldn't be this oblivious but I thought it would be funny lol


	4. 4

They had won. They had actually won the All-Valley Tournament and Kreese, _Kreese was gone._ Him, Terry Silver, and even Mike Barnes. Johnny and LaRusso had gotten rid of them once and for all, and the new and improved Cobra Kai (Strike First, Strike Hard, _Some_ Mercy) was back in business. Johnny breathed a sigh of relief at having his own dojo once again.

Now, don’t get Johnny wrong. He had enjoyed the combined Eagle Fang-Miyagi Do trainings just as much as the kids did, and doing the fighting demonstrations with someone who never actually tried to _kill_ you was a plus too, but there was something liberating about being in charge and teaching the classes on your own. His and LaRusso’s styles of karate were just too different, and they both agreed to having separate dojos but with the minor exception of joint classes every one or two weeks, just to make sure the kids would have the equilibrium of practicing both offense and defense techniques. The students who wanted to stay at Miyagi-Do with LaRusso could feel free, while the badass ones could come back to Cobra Kai with him. It was a win-win situation.

Well, almost.

Robby still kept his distance from Johnny. He had decided to move back in with Shannon, who had been deemed fit to be released out of rehab, and also joined Miyagi-Do again. Johnny honestly couldn’t blame him, but he promised himself that he would put more effort into being a better father. He had properly apologized and told Robby everything he had told Miguel before and more, but he knew it wasn’t enough to fill 17 years of absence. Johnny would keep trying, though.

On the bright side, the other kids who joined Kreese’s Cobra Kai, including Tory and Kyler, were now under him. Willingly, he might add. They still had those _winning_ personalities that Kreese had brainwashed them with, but he could see that they were making an effort to change and actually listen to what Johnny told them. Hell, sometimes they looked like they even _respected_ Johnny. If that wasn’t a miracle, Johnny didn’t know what was.

Well, maybe that and the fact that LaRusso’s other spawn, the one who inherited most, if not all of his smartassery from his dad, wanted to join Cobra Kai too. LaRusso, predictably, freaked out. 

“No. No way in hell.”

“Aw come on dad, you always wanted me to learn karate, right?”

“Yeah, but not with him!” LaRusso said, gesturing at Johnny. Johnny bristled a little at that but wisely stayed quiet.

“But his karate is so much more badass than yours! Who wants to sit around and do breathing exercises all day?”

Johnny had to conceal a smile with a cough while LaRusso glared at him.

“It’s not breathing _all day,_ it’s just part of the… okay, you know what? I don’t have to explain it to you. You’ll learn karate if and only if it’s from me, got it? And that’s final.”

It was, in fact, not final. The next day, Johnny found little LaRusso standing in front of his dojo with his arms folded across his chest and a defiant look on his face.

Johnny immediately called LaRusso.

“What?! How did he even get there?” LaRusso shouted so loud that Johnny had to move the phone away from his ear. His eardrum didn’t deserve the abuse.

“I Ubered!” Little LaRusso yelled from across the room. Johnny decided to ignore whatever that meant.

“Look LaRusso, it’s fine, okay? Just let him stay for the class today. We can talk about it later.”

“Johnny, I swear if anything happens to him…”

“Okay, okay. I get it. I’ll take care of your son. You don’t really think I’d actually hurt him, do you?” Johnny said. They’d been training their students together for all those months, you’d think LaRusso would trust him a bit more.

“Well no, of course I know you wouldn’t hurt him _intentionally,_ but just… don’t be too rough on him. Please.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep him in one piece and bring him home to you later, alright? Then maybe after we could go out for drinks and talk?” Johnny suggested, aiming to placate LaRusso.

It worked.

“You gonna pay this time, Johnny?” LaRusso asked, tone playful.

“Only if you order something that’s not a martini.”

Johnny smiled as he heard a chuckle come from the other end of the phone. _Point, Lawrence._

“Alright, I’ll take you up on that. Thanks Johnny. See you later.”

He heard LaRusso sigh softly before the call ended. Johnny placed the phone on the table and stared at the blank screen, processing what had just happened. Damn, he’s spent way too much time with LaRusso. It was making him soft, but then again, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

“Simp.”

Johnny’s head snapped towards little LaRusso, bringing him back to reality.

“The hell did you just call me?”

“Hey man, don’t be triggered. It’s just kinda cringe hearing you talk to my dad like that.”

Johnny put his head into his hands and massaged his forehead. “Okay, you know what? If you want to be here, you’re gonna have to lose the attitude.”

“Says the guy who couldn’t take the L and stayed salty over a high school rivalry for 30 years.” Little LaRusso scoffed, rolling his eyes.

That was it. Johnny stood up with his signature shout of “QUIET!” and went to stand in front of little LaRusso.

“20 push-ups on your knuckles, now!”

“Ooh, savage.”

“Make that 50!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is gonna be super long, probably double the word count of all the chapters right now, so be prepared for a lot coming.


	5. 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Johnny goes through A Lot™.

Johnny was having a mid-life crisis.

The day had started out just like any other day. He had an advanced class in the morning, an intermediate class in the afternoon and a beginner’s class an hour after that. LaRusso had come by to pick up his kid, and that’s when things started going to shit.

Okay, maybe he was being a little dramatic. But in Johnny’s defence, LaRusso -no wait, _Daniel_ , he would have to start getting used to calling him that if he wanted this thing between them to work out- had just dropped a huge bombshell on him as casual as if he was talking about the weather. “ _An_ _open relationship_ , _that’s what me and Amanda have,”_ Daniel had said. Johnny never knew that was even a thing, but here he was, apparently thinking of inserting himself into said open relationship.

You see, Johnny and Daniel had been spending a lot of time together these past few weeks, and not just because of karate. After the whole thing with little LaRusso joining Cobra Kai, Daniel seemed to have loosened up a lot more around Johnny.

When they had first agreed to the dojo alliance, both of them were still pretty wary of each other. Sure, they had to work together, but it didn’t mean they had to like it. They had learnt how to not get on each other’s nerves all the time and kept neutral ground, focusing on their common enemy, but ever since they won, things slowly started to change.

The first time Johnny started to notice that something felt different was right after the tournament, when Daniel had _hugged_ him. Johnny had gone for a handshake, just like the one Daniel had offered after the double date that night at the restaurant, but Daniel had looked at him with a raised eyebrow and said, “I think we’re way past that, Johnny,” and suddenly he was pulled into a tight embrace, strong hands landing on his back. Johnny had frozen up at first, but after the initial shock wore off he returned the hug, patting Daniel on the back a few times. When they parted, Johnny stared into those big brown eyes. In that moment, the words were out of his mouth before his brain could even think of it.

“You’re alright, LaRusso.”

The smile that encompassed Daniel’s face could have challenged a California sunrise.

Ever since then, Johnny and Daniel had both been finding excuses to be in each other’s presence. Daniel would occasionally invite Johnny to his house for dinner, while Johnny would sometimes take Daniel out for a drink. One of those nights, Johnny had finally apologized for terrorizing Daniel all those years ago. Daniel said he had forgiven Johnny a while back, but for the rest of the night he kept giving Johnny small glances, like he finally saw Johnny in a new light.

Ironically, it had been Daniel who had struck first.

Fast forward to about ten minutes ago when Johnny had just wrapped up the beginner’s class and Daniel showed up.

“Anthony, why don’t you go wait in the car. I need to talk to Johnny for a sec,” Daniel said, dangling the car keys in front of his son.

Little LaRusso’s eyebrows narrowed, but before he could throw out what Johnny knew was going to be a smartass comment, Daniel cut him off.

“Your Switch is in the glove compartment.”

Anthony didn’t hesitate in snatching the keys and running out of the dojo. Johnny eyed the little asshole’s retreating back.

“So I’m guessing ‘switch’ has a different meaning now? Unless I’m supposed to be imagining the kid flicking something up and down in that car. Wait, that sounded wrong. Forget I asked.”

Daniel chuckled, shaking his head.

“It’s a video game console,” He said with a fond smile.

“Ah, right. _Video games,”_ Johnny said, wrinkling his nose. Daniel’s smile grew wider, and he moved closer towards Johnny. “Come on, we can talk in the office.”

Johnny walked into the cramped office and leaned against the table, folding his arms over his chest nonchalantly. Daniel followed, stopping just short of the door and a comfortable distance away from Johnny.

“So, what’s up?”

“I just… wanted to thank you.”

Huh, now that was new.

“For what?”

“Taking care of Anthony. I really appreciate it man, I haven’t seen him this excited about something that wasn’t video games in a long time. God knows I’ve been trying to get him to do karate with me ever since he could walk, but he just wouldn’t budge. Then, he sees you and suddenly he’s all for it. I mean, I’m happy that he finally took interest, and as far as Sensei’s go, he could’ve chosen a lot worse.”

“Gee, thanks for the compliment.”

“Zip it, I’m not done yet. Listen, what I wanted to tell you is that you’ve really helped Anthony come out of his shell. His teachers said that he’d been having a rough time at school before this, but now he’s been standing up for himself in a way that doesn’t involve beating the crap out of the other kids, and I’ve got to say, I was pretty impressed. I asked him how he managed to keep himself under control so well, and he said you taught him.”

Johnny felt a small surge of pride at that, but before he could say anything, Daniel continued.

“At first, I was kind of miffed, you know. Like, why wouldn’t he let _me_ teach him? If it was about defending himself against bullies, then Miyagi-Do definitely would’ve been the better option. But then I figured, kids that age, maybe it was lame to have your dad be the guy who taught you how to throw a punch, or in this case, how to hold back throwing a punch. So I thought about it, and who cares where your son learns to be good anyway? I mean, sure it would’ve been nice if he had stuck with me, but in the end what really matters is that he turns out okay, and I don’t know if he would’ve been guided properly if he had gone to any other dojo, so… Look, what I’m trying to say is, I’m grateful that if it had to be anyone other than me to teach my son karate, it was you.”

And wow, that was a lot for Johnny to take in. Through all of Daniel’s perpetual rambling, Johnny’s brain had been working to process all the words being thrown at him, and by the end of it, he had come to one pretty overwhelming conclusion.

Daniel actually _trusted_ him with his kid.

Him. Johnny Lawrence, guy who got banned from more shitty chain restaurants than you could count on one hand, had earned Daniel LaRusso’s trust. The thought was so surreal, and Daniel was looking at Johnny with an expression so honest and sincere that Johnny had to look away before he did something he would regret.

“It’s the least I could do, man,” Johnny said shrugging, going for nonchalant as he feigned looking at his fingernails with his other arm still across his chest. “I mean, you’ve been taking care of Robby for a while now. How’s he doing by the way?”

“He’s doing pretty well actually. Getting calmer every day. He hasn’t forgiven me just yet, but I think he understands that I did what I thought was best for him. He just needs some time to adjust, but he’ll come around eventually.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Johnny uncrossed his arms and braced them against the table behind him, looking down. Daniel took a step closer towards Johnny.

“He’ll come around with you too, Johnny. You’ve just got to keep being there for him.”

“Yeah, I just… I don’t want to screw up again, you know? His whole life, that’s all I’ve been doing, and I don’t know what to do about it. How do I even try to fix things with him when I couldn’t even start, I wasn’t even there when he was born-”

“Hey.”

Johnny felt a hand grab his shoulder softly, and he glanced up to see Daniel looking at him with a gentle expression.

“You’ve changed, right? You’re trying to be better. You _are_ better. You care for him, and you’ve got to show him that. Be there for him now. Just keep trying. That’s what being a parent is about.”

Johnny swallowed and nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, alright.”

“Good.”

Daniel’s hand was still on his shoulder, his thumb lightly brushing back and forth against his skin. Johnny felt his heart beat faster as he turned to look at the hand, then at Daniel. Those dark brown eyes stared right back at him, and Johnny could swear he stopped breathing for a moment.

“LaRusso-”

Anything Johnny was about to say got cut short when soft lips pressed to his. It was a chaste kiss, slow and hesitant to start. Then, Johnny tilted his head to a better angle, bringing his hands to cup Daniel’s face, and it was like something clicked into place. The kiss turned sweet and welcoming, and they stayed like that for a while, both participants slowly getting used to the feeling of one another’s mouth on their own.

Daniel was the one to take the kiss further, swiping his tongue across Johnny’s lips. His mouth parted immediately by reflex, deepening the kiss and allowing the tongue to enter, the action drawing a soft moan from Johnny. The kiss grew more and more heated as they went on, Daniel’s hands finding their way to curl into the soft hair at the back of Johnny’s head.

Somewhere in between the blurry haze of making out, Johnny’s brain suddenly realized what he was doing.

“Wait, wait. Stop,” Johnny gasped out, panting.

Daniel was no better. He huffed, leaning his forehead onto Johnny’s.

“What? What’s wrong?” Daniel asked.

“You have a wife.”

“No, it’s okay.” Johnny leaned back and stared at Daniel. “I mean, yeah, I do have a wife, but it’s an open relationship.”

“A _what?”_

And that was the not-so-brief story of how they got to this point. Daniel had explained to him what an open relationship was, and then left with a _“Think about it, alright? I’ll see you later.”_

And think about it Johnny did. He didn’t know anything on how to keep a steady _closed_ relationship, let alone an open one. Case in point, Shannon. The last time he tried anything that wasn’t a one-night stand was… Oh, yeah. Shit.

Wasn’t that a perfect segue to a whole other problem Johnny had to think about, his thing with Carmen. After Miguel got hurt in the LaRusso house fight, their relationship had been on the rocks again. Johnny had asked for some time to deal with Kreese and told her that they would talk about it again after the tournament. Carmen had agreed. Now, it had been a few weeks since they had beat Kreese, and Johnny had yet to have a proper talk with her. He blamed it on being busy with revamping Cobra Kai, but deep down Johnny knew he was avoiding the conversation on purpose.

So here Johnny was, sitting at his desk alone, having a mental breakdown.

_What was he going to do?_

Johnny put his head in his hands and let out a long groan.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn’t hear the tell-tale chime of the bell on the front door ringing.

“Hey Sensei, I think I left my water bottle here, have you seen-” Hawk stopped short as he saw Johnny’s state of disarray. “You don’t look too good. Are you okay?”

Johnny looked up from his hands, and damn, if looks could kill. Hawk raised his hands in surrender. “Hey man, whatever it is, don’t let it out on me. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Johnny sighed and pointed towards a corner of the dojo where Hawk’s water bottle sat. “Oh, thanks dude.” Hawk went to grab it before coming back to Johnny. “So, you sure I can’t do anything to help? If it’s about training lessons, I looked up some videos on YouTube and I found a really badass-”

“Eli, what’s taking so long? Oh, hey Mr. Lawrence. You look like shit.”

The same scowl Johnny had given Hawk now reappeared, this time aimed towards Demetri, who’s eyes widened before turning to Hawk.

“O-kay, Eli, maybe we should leave Mr. Lawrence alone. He seems big mad. Hey, you got your bottle, great! Let’s go.”

“Bye Sensei.”

As the two of them were about to leave, a thought suddenly popped into Johnny’s head. He quickly brushed it off, thinking there was no way in hell he was asking two teenagers about dating advice. But... what if they knew about this kind of stuff? Maybe it was the new normal? Shit. He couldn’t believe he was about to do this, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

“Hey, you two know anything about open relationships?”

Both Demetri and Hawk turned around with raised eyebrows.

“Why do you wanna know?” Demetri asked, eyeing Johnny suspiciously.

“Just answer the damn question.”

Demetri shared a look with Hawk, and Hawk nodded slightly. They looked like they were reading each other’s minds or some shit. Was that a thing now too? Johnny honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it was.

A few seconds passed, and Johnny was starting to get impatient, regretting that he had asked a bunch of kids about this. What the hell was he thinking involving-

“My parents are in one,” Demetri declared.

Johnny immediately perked up. “How does it work?”

“I don’t know man; I don’t ask my mom and dad about their dating life. I really don’t need that info. Sometimes they just go out with other people, and if they’re serious about it, then they introduce me to them,” Demetri shrugged.

“Wait, that’s it? I thought you had to do some extra shit to make sure you’d be worth adding to the family. You sure I don’t have to like, I don’t know, go and buy stuff for their kids to make them like me or something?”

Demetri made a face. “Dude, not everything’s a competition. Why would you even think that would be a good idea?” He asked.

“Hey, chicks dig that crap. Once I got a babe to give me her number just by giving her kid a chocolate bar I had in my pocket. Easiest lay I ever had.”

“Um, weird flex, Sensei.” Hawk said, his nose wrinkling in disgust at the thought of his Sensei getting laid. 

“Yeah man, you’ve really got to get rid of that toxic masculinity mindset,” Demetri added with the same look of repulsion.

Johnny blinked. What was it that Miguel had said he should do if he wanted to punch someone? Oh right, make a fist. Both his hands were balled up at his sides, and he was pretty sure if he squeezed any harder he would break a few fingers. This wasn’t working. Maybe Daniel’s breathing crap might help. Johnny took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“Woah, Sensei. Relax. You look like you’re about to throw hands,” Hawk said as he saw Johnny exhale loudly.

“We’re just trying to tell you that it’s the 21st century. A relationship doesn’t just have to be between one man and one woman anymore. It doesn’t even have to be between a man and a woman either, but that’s a whole other thing you probably don’t get too,” Demetri said, the little condescending shit he was.

Johnny was insulted. “What, you think I don’t get that? Give me some credit, I’ve been living in California my whole life. You really think I’ve never met a gay guy before?”

“Well, not to offend, but sometimes you sure act like it,” Demetri said, then immediately took a step back, ready to run if Johnny suddenly got the urge to invoke the way of the fist. Johnny sighed.

“That’s ‘cause the world was different back then. You’d get your ass beaten to a pulp if you ever got caught doing shit like that. We had to be careful, couldn’t just go messing around with anyone.”

Hawk and Demetri both shared a look at the use of ‘we’.

“Um, is there something you wanna tell us, Mr. Lawrence?”

“No. You know why? ‘Cause it’s none of your fucking business. Lay off.” Johnny was definitely not doing this, no matter how normal it was now.

“If it makes you feel any better, me and Eli are together,” Demetri admitted with a shrug. Johnny was a little blindsided by the nonchalance of the announcement, but schooled his expression to a neutral one so as to not encourage the kids further.

“It’s okay if you don’t like labels, Sensei, but you can talk to us. Internalized homophobia really isn’t healthy anyway,” Hawk reassured.

“Alright, you know what? I’ve had enough with all these new phrases and terms everyone’s using. They’re _bullshit._ Why the hell do you kids talk like that? I feel like I’m going insane!”

“Ok boomer, chill. If you wanna learn so much, I’d suggest you go look it up in urban dictionary,” Demetri said.

“What? No way I’m looking it up in a _dictionary._ What do you think I am, some loser who goes to the library?”

“It’s not in a library, it’s… forget it. Look, we just came into the dojo for the water bottle and saw you looking like you just found out Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were getting a divorce.”

“Who the _fuck-_ ”

“Being the _caring_ students that we are, we wanted to _help._ So, are you gonna let us or not?”

Well… since they were offering… might as well.

“Okay, you guys wanna help? Maybe you could tell me what some of that crap means so I don’t feel like punching something every time I hear one.”

“Wait you’re serious? No cap?” Demetri said, and Johnny glowered. Demetri looked towards Hawk. “Wig snatched.” Hawk nodded and hummed in agreement. Johnny’s face scrunched up and he eyed Demetri’s hair.

“You telling me you wear a wig, nerd?”

“No, it means-” Demetri glanced at Hawk who shook his head. “Too complex, got it. We’ll start with the simple ones. Here’s what you need to know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to say, this chapter and also the next one were my favorites to write, just because things are finally happening. We're almost at the end, guys!


	6. +1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit to @arietisprimavera on Tumblr for the idea of Johnny and Daniel's date!

_Get a grip, Lawrence. You’re acting like a 12-year old girl with a crush. Stop being such a goddamn pussy and man up,_ Johnny thought as he stood in front of the main door to the LaRusso household. It was his and Daniel’s first official date since the ‘open relationship’ discussion happened, and Johnny wasn’t nervous. Nope, not at all. He’d taken dozens of babes on dates before. They’d all fallen hook, line and sinker for the golden locks, blue eyes, and signature Johnny Lawrence smile. _But this wasn’t a babe, it was Daniel,_ his mind supplied. Johnny took a deep breath, lifted his clammy hands, why was he sweating so much, _god_ , and knocked three times.

It was Amanda who opened the door.

“Look at you, all dressed up to take my husband out, huh?” Amanda said, giving Johnny a onceover, her eyes raking up and down at his form.

Johnny self-consciously glanced down at his outfit. It was a step up from his everyday ratty band t-shirts, sure, but not by too much. He had put on his best pair of jeans and a new shirt that Bobby had bought for him after giving him advice on how to get his act together, bless him and his priestly ways.

The shirt was a plain red button-up, but the buttons, rolled-up cuffs and small area in front of the shirt just below the collar were highlighted in white, with the chest pocket having a small streak of yellow at the top. To be honest, it kind of reminded Johnny of the old Cobra Kai leather jacket. That was probably the main reason why he was wearing it now in the first place.

“What, this shirt not my style?” Johnny shifted on his feet, looking at Amanda.

“I didn’t say that. Actually, quite the opposite. You look good,” Amanda complimented.

“Thanks.” Johnny shoved his hands into his jeans pockets for lack of nothing better to do.

“So, what’s the plan for tonight, a little wine and dine? Maybe hoping to get lucky after?” Johnny didn’t know what face he made, but seeing the look Amanda gave him, it must’ve been quite the expression. “Oh, you do _not_ get to look at me like that. I can read you like a goddamn book, Lawrence.”

“Alright, alright, sheesh. I was trying to be polite, y’know, like… _chivalrous.”_

Amanda snorted, which, okay, fair. “Do you even know what that word means?”

Johnny gave her a mock-offended look and Amanda laughed.

Johnny smiled and felt his nerves loosen up at the easy-going banter. Amanda had always been a no-bullshit kind of woman, always ready to put her husband, or any other man for that matter, in his place. Johnny respected her for it, even more so when he heard about the hard slap to the face she had given Kreese. The woman had _balls._

As a result, it wasn’t surprising that Amanda and Johnny had immediately gotten along like a house on fire ever since the beginning of the dojo team up. They had the same brazen, sharp-tongued wit, and when Johnny threw one out, Amanda could do one better without batting an eye. They also had the same sense of humour, and evidently, the same taste in men too.

“Hey, I can be classy when I want to be alright? Just ‘cause I don’t eat the imported and overpriced _raw_ fish that your husband goes crazy over doesn’t mean I can’t be tasteful. I could be a perfect gentleman.”

“Ha, now that’s something I’d pay to see,” A third voice joined the conversation.

Amanda turned towards Johnny with an eyebrow raised. “Speak of the devil.”

Daniel appeared out of the hallway wearing a dark blue windowpane button-down, with rolled up sleeves and brown buttons that complimented his eyes, tucked into a pair of fitted black chinos.

Johnny thought he looked _really_ good, but he had to play it cool.

“Well, I’m paying tonight, so you can look forward to that,” Johnny said offhandedly. Amanda and Daniel shared a look as if Johnny had just told them that dinosaurs had built the pyramids. “C’mon guys. I’m trying over here, give me some credit,” Johnny said with what definitely _wasn’t_ a pout, he was just frowning like normal adult men do, okay.

Amanda and Daniel both broke into grins and small chuckles, seeing the mopey look on Johnny’s face.

“Have fun, you two. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Amanda said, placing a kiss on her husband’s cheek, then moving towards Johnny to do the same.

“Well, that doesn’t leave much out, does it?” Johnny quipped, laughing when Amanda shoved him off playfully.

“We’ll see who’s leaving things out tomorrow, I want all the details when you get back, okay? And I mean _all,”_ Amanda said, pointing to her husband who predictably blushed.

Johnny just snickered and wiggled his eyebrows. “Kinky.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Amanda affirmed with a wink before closing the door in their faces.

“Wow. You are one lucky man, LaRusso.”

Daniel looked towards the closed door where Amanda had once been, took a glance towards Johnny, and smiled.

“Yeah, I really am.” Daniel and Johnny stared at each other softly, a comfortable silence passing between them until Daniel cleared his throat. “So, you decided where you’re taking me yet?”

Johnny just grinned.  
  


* * *

  
“Really, Johnny?” Daniel said, staring at the familiar red sign he’d seen millions of times ever since he’d moved to the Valley all those years ago. “So much for being a _perfect gentleman._ Was that just an act in front of Amanda? I should’ve known.”

“What? It’s a classic first date spot. Everyone loves mini-golf.”

“Yeah, everyone who’s in _high school._ We could bump into our kids here, Jesus Christ.”

Oh yeah, Johnny hadn’t thought about that.

“Eh, it’ll be fine. They wouldn’t even notice us. Come on, I’m gonna kick your ass.”

“In what?”

“Take your pick. I know I could beat you as long as you don’t pull out any _illegal moves.”_

“Oh, we’ll see about that _._ Bet you can’t get the windmill in three shots.”

 _“_ You are _on.”  
  
_

* * *

“Fuck! I could’ve gotten that in three! You hit my ball on purpose, you asshole!”

“It was in the way, what was I supposed to do? If you had hit it a little further, maybe I could’ve avoided it. This is on you, buddy.”

“Bullshit. You just don’t wanna admit that you cheated, _again._ ”

“Read it and weep, pal.”

“C’mon, let’s go play something else. I know I can wipe the floor with you in the next one.”

“Promises, promises.”

* * *

“Man, this isn’t fair. Let’s play another one, literally _any_ other one, I’m begging here.”

“Hey, you told me to _take my pick,_ and I pick this. Unless, wait, is… is Johnny Lawrence too _chicken shit_ to play Dance Dance Revolution?”

“Fuck you, LaRusso.”

Daniel grinned like a Cheshire cat. Damnit. _Point, LaRusso._

* * *

“Johnny, you’re on the left side, shoot the ones on the _left._ I’ll take care of the ones on my side.”

“But there’s so many on your side! You need the help, and I’m here to protect you.”

“Wow, that is one of the most sappiest things I’ve ever heard you say. My knight in shining armour, I’m swooning.”

“Shut up.”

“Aw, and you’re blushing! I’m going to remember this forever, you know.”

If Johnny let Daniel get mauled by a bunch of zombies that round, it was nobody’s fault but his own.

* * *

_The date’s going pretty well so far_ , Johnny thought to himself as the two of them made their way to the ticket counter. They had a shit ton of tickets and could probably get the biggest prize there. _But is that enough to impress Daniel?_ His mind asked.

Maybe it was time to pepper in some newly-learnt terms he had been taught a few days ago. Showing Daniel he was caught up with the times would make Daniel realize he was a responsible adult, right?

When they got to the ticket counter, there were a few people waiting in line to get their prizes, which struck Johnny as odd because, since when was there a line for this crap? It was a quick exchange thing, there wasn’t ever a need for a _line._ That’s when he heard the commotion up at the counter.

There was a woman at the front of the line, arguing with the teen working behind the counter, who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else but there at the moment.

“Look, I’m sorry but we can’t give you the chicken, you don’t have enough tickets,” The teen said tiredly.

“But my son did get enough tickets, he was just a little clumsy and it got blown away by the wind. Can I speak to the manager?”

“Lady, this is a Golf N’ Stuff, and it’s almost 10 pm. Why would there be a manager here?”

The woman huffed, and with one last remark of “I’m never bringing my son here ever again with this kind of service!” she left.

Johnny watched as everyone in line seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Seeing his opportunity, Johnny took it.

“Man, she’s a real Karen, huh?” Johnny nodded in the woman’s direction.

Daniel shot a questioning look at Johnny, then back to the woman. “Yeah, I guess she is. Hey, I’ve got to take a leak. Be back in a minute.”

“Um, yeah. Sure, man.” Then, Daniel left.

Wait, did Daniel notice? Did he get the reference? Maybe not. Well, Johnny would have to try harder next time to get his attention.

* * *

“There wasn’t a crane, so this was the best I could get.”

Daniel eyed the plush chicken, suppressing a smile. “And you’re sure that’s the only reason you got me this one?”

“What are you accusing me of, huh? Whatever it is, I would never.”

“Sure Johnny, whatever you say,” Daniel said, accepting the chicken and squeezing it to his chest. “So, where are we going for dinner? And before you say it, I’m not eating here. Me and Sam tried getting the pizza once and it made us both sick for three days.” Daniel shuddered at the memory.

“That’s because you got a weak-ass stomach, LaRusso.” Daniel shot Johnny a withered look and Johnny raised his arms in surrender. “Okay, fine. I know a place a couple of blocks from here if you want.”

“Lead the way.”

* * *

“So what are you gonna order?”

They were sitting in a booth at a 24-hour diner, deciding what to eat. Here was Johnny’s next chance to exhibit the update in his vernacular.

“I don’t know yet. I low-key want the cheeseburger, but the steak seems like a mood, too.”

Daniel side-eyed him over the menu for a while before speaking. “Alright then. I’m gonna indulge myself tonight. I haven’t had a cheeseburger in a while, and the chocolate milkshake would be a perfect addition of diabetes to the eventual heart attack.”

Johnny rolled his eyes, partly because, _of course_ Daniel would be freaking out about his health over a harmless burger and shake, but also because, did Daniel not hear his effort to insert the new vocab this time either? Johnny added two just in case Daniel missed the first one. He did say it pretty casually though, so it might’ve gone over Daniel’s head again. Well, maybe third time’s the charm, then.

* * *

Their food had just arrived. Johnny was starving, so he raised the burger to his mouth and took a sizable bite as he listened to Daniel ramble on about his day at the dealership, something about how tough it was to seal the deal in opening yet _another_ branch of LaRusso Auto somewhere in the Valley, as if there weren’t plenty enough already. The Johnny Lawrence of a year ago would have thought Daniel was trying to gloat, but by now he’d learnt that Daniel was just a natural show-off kind of guy and didn’t really mean anything by it.

That wouldn’t stop Johnny from ribbing him a little, though.

“Cool it with the humble bragging, man. It’s not a good look on you,” Johnny said with his mouth full, words coming out all muffled.

Daniel wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Speaking of not good looks. Jesus, Johnny. Do I have to teach you this too? Swallow first, then talk. That way, I don’t need to see what you’ve got in your mouth, and you won’t make a mess of yourself. Win-win.”

And yeah, there definitely was several dirty jokes that could have been made right there and then, but Johnny decided to hold himself back for once. He was trying to be _classy_ , after all. So, he swallowed his food and opened his mouth, sticking his tongue out. “There, happy?”

“Ecstatic,” Daniel said, rolling his eyes. “I can see why Carmen was so charmed by you. I’m falling head over heels here,” He said sarcastically, but with an affectionate look on his face.

Johnny straightened at the mention of Carmen. He’d been meaning to tell Daniel after their date, but now that she had been mentioned, Johnny figured he might as well just say it now.

“Don’t act like you don’t love it, LaRusso. So… speaking of Carmen, I talked to her yesterday. We discussed some stuff and I- uh, I told her. About us, I mean.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow. “What’d she say?”

“She just smiled and said she was happy for me. It was kind of weird though, I thought she would be more bummed out or something.”

Daniel stared at Johnny for a while, blinking. Now it was Johnny’s turn to raise an eyebrow as he took a sip of his drink.

“You know Carmen and Amanda are dating too, right?”

Johnny choked on his Coors Banquet, and Daniel, the dick he was, broke into a chortle as he watched Johnny fumble to wipe at his mouth and lap where the beer had spilt all over.

“What the fuck? When did that happen?”

“A couple of days ago. They went out to that fancy Italian place near the country club.”

Johnny was still trying to recover from almost dying due to beer inhalation.

“Why didn’t she tell me? Why didn’t _you_ tell me?”

“I swear, I thought she told you. Maybe she wanted to get back at you for not talking to her sooner?”

Johnny winced. _What goes around, comes around_ , he thought. “You should’ve told me, man. I would’ve asked her for advice instead of that lanky-ass nerd who couldn’t shut up if his life depended on it.” 

“Wait, you asked _Demetri?”_

Johnny felt his face redden, but he’d accidentally let the cat out of the bag, so he had to stand his ground. “I hate to admit it, but the kid’s not half bad once you get past all the… what’s the word Hawk used? _Quirks.”_

Daniel stared at him in bewilderment. “Well, I’m glad you both get along now, but why the _hell_ would you-” 

“Look, I wasn’t really thinking straight, alright? It was the day that we talked about starting this thing between us. They came in right after you left, and my brain was still messed up from what happened. It wasn’t my finest moment.”

Daniel snorted. “I’ll bet it wasn’t. Asking a bunch of kids, really Johnny?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Can we just… forget that ever happened?”

Daniel gave Johnny a look that definitely said _no way am I ever forgetting this,_ but changed the subject anyway. Johnny let out a small sigh of relief.

* * *

It was around midnight when they finally walked through the doors of the diner and over towards Johnny’s car. Johnny took in the cool air, breathing out slowly. He was about to open his mouth and say something when Daniel beat him to it first.

“Hey, catch.”

Something flew towards Johnny’s head, and he thanked karate training for his reflexes, being able to catch the object just in time before it could cost him a black eye.

He turned it around in his hand, looking it over. It was a Guns N’ Roses keychain. Johnny stared at it, and the snarling skull with a top hat, two revolvers aimed diagonally at its head and a single rose on its left stared back. Johnny sent a questioning look towards Daniel.

“Saw it at a shop yesterday. Reminded me of you.”

Johnny felt his stomach do a weird sort of flip he hadn’t felt since he was a teenager. To distract himself, he took out his car keys and added the keychain to the ring, holding it up so that Daniel could see. Daniel smiled, looking downwards, and Johnny swallowed dryly as he thought of how cute Daniel looked.

“Thanks,” Johnny said, then almost cringed at how hoarse his voice sounded. He cleared his throat. Well, guess this would be a perfect time as any to show off another one of his added lexicon. He was pulling out the big guns this time, it was now or never.

“Hey.” Johnny called, making Daniel glance up.

“Yeah?”

“You wanna come back to my place? We can Netflix and Chill.”

Daniel seemed to freeze for a moment and gape at Johnny.

Johnny began to think maybe he overdid it this time, was that too straight forward? Shit, did he use it correctly? Johnny was about to blurt out something, anything to do some damage control, but then Daniel’s face changed, and the next thing Johnny knew, the little shit was _laughing._

Johnny stared at him, waiting it out a little before asking him what was so goddamn funny, but when Daniel glanced back at Johnny, it just sent him into another fit of laughter all over again. Johnny crossed his arms and frowned.

After a pretty long fucking while, the laughter finally died down.

“You done?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Did... Did you really just say that unironically?” Daniel asked, still giggling a little and wiping the tears from his eyes. Johnny’s frown deepened.

“Was it supposed to be ironic?”

Daniel shook his head, still smiling. “No, I’m pretty sure you used it correctly.”

“Then why’d you turn into the fucking Joker?” Miguel had made him watch the movie. It was pretty good, but also really sad.

“I just… Never in a million years would I have thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth. It was… an experience.”

“See? I’m up to date with the current lingo.”

“Guess you proved me wrong, then.”

Well, Johnny decided to take that as a compliment. Hey, maybe he really was starting to get the hang of these new slangs.

“I mean, Johnny Lawrence, woke? Deadass, seems pretty sus, bro.”

Or maybe not.

“What the _fuck_ just came out of _your_ mouth?”

Daniel guffawed. “Okay, well maybe not that woke.”

“How do you even know all that crap?”

“I have a 12-year old son.”

Oh yeah, right.

A thought seemed to occur to Daniel at that moment. “Wait, did you learn all that from Demetri too?” Well, so much for forgetting that ever happened. At Johnny’s sheepish face, Daniel broke out into full-on laughter again. “Oh my _god,_ you did! This is so great. I’m seeing a whole new side to you tonight; this is the best moment in my entire life.”

“Eat shit, LaRusso. I’m glad you’re enjoying this, see if I ever do anything to impress you again.”

“You learnt Gen Z slang to impress me?” Daniel seemed to be at a loss for words for a few seconds before finally asking, “Why would you think it would _impress_ me?”

“I don’t know! I guess I just thought you were the kind of guy who was into all that new generation stuff, like with the open relationship thing. Whatever, it was stupid.”

Daniel couldn’t help but smile at Johnny’s red face. “It was stupid, yes, but it was also kind of sweet too. Come here.”

Johnny sullenly moved closer to Daniel, who grabbed his chin softly and gave him a slow but sultry kiss that immediately made Johnny forget about all of the teasing. The kiss did _things_ to Johnny. Things he definitely wanted to explore further.

He broke off the kiss and looked Daniel in the eyes.

“So… is that a yes to Netflix and Chill?”

Daniel chuckled and kissed him some more to shut him up. Johnny didn’t mind one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it! Sappy ending I know, but I couldn't help myself. Hope you all enjoyed my silly fic.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I stole Ralph's twitter and made it Daniel's. Please feel free to tell me what you think!


End file.
